tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82808169565997372572018-03-06T21:34:11.657+01:00STOP SPANGLISHThey call it "past PERFECT" for a reason: It's not always fun to learn, but it's always rewarding to HAVE LEARNT something.Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.comBlogger274125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-71395049930057283302014-07-16T17:51:00.003+02:002014-07-16T17:52:50.413+02:00ON THE MOVE!!! Come visit us at our new website!Well, as most of you will have noticed, things have been a little quiet around here lately. But there's a good reason why...<br /><br />I have finally gotten off my butt and created a new and improved website...please stop by to visit it!<br /><h2><a href="http://www.de2a2.com/"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">http://www.de2a2.com</span></a></h2><div>This is where you'll be able to find the "new" version of Stop Spanglish, called <b>De2a2 Language Services</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Why the change?</b><br /><ul><li>I love my Spanish students, but some people (who weren't Spanish) thought that the classes were only for Spanish speakers. (Fair enough. Plus the name is kind of negative, when you think about it - and I wanted a company name that focused on growth, communication and opportunity.)</li><li>In the past year, the business has REALLY expanded to include other services, besides classes. I'm now doing virtual assistant work, and a LOT more translation.....which was hard to include in this blog, which is mostly about learning English.</li><li>I don't have any criticisms of Blogger as a platform - it's great for blogs. However, the new website will allow you to book classes directly from the website (as well as sign up for courses), submit requests and work orders, and do a lot of administrative stuff that I just couldn't do on this blog.</li></ul><div>Once again, thanks to everyone for their continued support of Stop Spanglish, and I look forward to helping and serving you over at <a href="http://www.de2a2.com/">De2a2</a>!&nbsp;</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-87524887285553278962013-10-06T16:25:00.001+02:002013-10-06T16:25:40.948+02:00Storing links on StorifyJust a quick note for those of you who are doing set classes this year (rather than conversation classes)...<div><br /></div><div>I know it's hard to organize all the links that we talk about and use in class, especially if we're talking about extra reading or radio broadcasts that are related to the topics that we cover. So I've started an account with Storify.com, which helps people organize links around topics. (I know Pinterest does it, too, but I found Pinterest wasn't as good with YouTube videos, and was just .) So here goes!&nbsp;</div><div><ul><li>For those of you who are studying for the Cambridge First, <a href="http://storify.com/stopspanglish/cambridge-first-2013-2014-perfect-storm-links" target="_blank">here are links that are connected to "The Perfect Storm"</a>, which is this year's set text for First, Advanced and Proficiency.</li><li>For those of you who are doing Proficiency for Professionals, here is the story that contains <a href="http://storify.com/stopspanglish/proficiency-for-professionals-culture" target="_blank">links on culture in the work place.</a>&nbsp;(This one is a little short, but will continue to grow as the course grows. Be sure to check back in to check out new links as they come up.)</li></ul></div><div><br /></div>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-35219330378893057682013-09-12T14:21:00.001+02:002013-09-12T14:21:19.897+02:00Evernote and Business English: A cool ideaI know I drive a lot of you crazy by talking about useful Evernote is for organizing vocabulary. Well, I just saw another excellent idea that help you if you need to write a lot of e-mails in English:<div><br></div><div>1. Open Evernote. On the left-hand side of the screen, you'll see two lists: One is for notebooks, and the other is for individual notes.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>2. Create a Notebook called "Business English" or "Business Correspondence" (or something like that).</div><div><br></div><div>3. Once you've created the notebook, create a new note (or more than one) that focuses on the language you want to keep, and to refer to, more frequently. Some ideas might be: <i>Phrasal verbs for business, Nice ways to ask for difficult things, Language for describing options and possibilities, </i>things like that.</div><div>4. Every time you read (or hear) something useful or cool or funny or effective, be sure to open the note and write it down!</div><div><br></div><div>Yes, this method is a bit more work in the beginning. The reward, however, is that you'll save a lot of time and wasted brainpower trying to remember (or, worse, think of) specific language for specific situations.</div><div><br></div><div>Youcan learn more about Evernote at www.evernote.com (www.evernote.es in Spain.)</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks to <b><i>FastCompany.com</i></b> for the tip!</div>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-23757519975302528512013-08-23T14:44:00.000+02:002013-08-23T14:44:01.320+02:00No time is no excuse.I love this quote (and I hope I can get away with a little bit of copyright infringement by sharing it:)<div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: #f2efe8; color: #474534; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">No time is no excuse: squeeze out a few extra hours of every week. When you want something bad enough, you make the time – regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don’t want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time. Don’t let yourself off the hook with excuses. It’s entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come true. Besides, the perfect time never arrives. You’re always too young or old or busy or broke or something else. If you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they’ll never happen.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>(Taken from the <a href="http://justseventhings.com/tag/37signals/">37signals</a> blog.)</div>Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-5758694056433052092013-08-22T18:38:00.005+02:002013-08-22T18:38:48.803+02:00Smarter Learning (again): Why virtue doesn't work.The start of a new school year is always a good time to reflect on your past learning experiences and to think about what has (and hasn't worked.)<br /><br />This post (<a href="http://stop-spanglish.blogspot.ca/2010/11/why-virtue-doesnt-work.html" target="_blank">"Why Virtue Doesn't Work"</a>) dates back to 2010, but I still think it's equally relevant today...Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-26084709822149011122013-08-10T19:02:00.000+02:002013-08-10T19:02:17.253+02:00Efficient Learning: The seven questions you should ask yourselfI'm taking a course on teaching with Coursera, and I just saw something I'd like to share with you (I will admit here that I actually didn't secure permission to share this, but I imagine it's not proprietary).<br /><br />As you plan for your English learning this year, ask yourself these seven questions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--yb19wtUSAg/UgZx8ovOUzI/AAAAAAAAAsU/Tx9QO1CPFSg/s1600/ESL+Pics+-+7+questions+for+effective+learning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--yb19wtUSAg/UgZx8ovOUzI/AAAAAAAAAsU/Tx9QO1CPFSg/s640/ESL+Pics+-+7+questions+for+effective+learning.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-16245333194300122042013-08-01T15:22:00.000+02:002013-08-01T15:23:13.743+02:00Cambridge Exams: Key Sentence Transformation VideosI just wanted to let everybody know that there are now two Key Sentence Transformation videos available on YouTube.<br /><br />The first one is a general <a href="http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/overview">overview</a> of <a href="http://youtu.be/4sJdeKYSKCM">how Key Sentence Transformation works.</a><br />The second one focuses specifically on how to do <a href="http://youtu.be/M3izBrea0RY">Key Sentence Transformation with one-word verbs and phrasal verbs</a> (and vice-versa.)<br /><br />I'll be working on more videos this summer, especially the Key Sentence Transformation videos.<br /><br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-52013294819009999752013-07-29T15:36:00.000+02:002013-07-29T15:36:09.471+02:00It's not easy for us, either!So last night, I was looking around Twitter (as you do, when it's Sunday night and there's nothing good on TV), and I found this blog....<br /><br /><a href="http://30daysofspanish.wordpress.com/">http://30daysofspanish.wordpress.com</a><br /><br />It's the story of a guy named James, who shares an apartment in Seattle with a guy named Luis. James has decided that he's going to try learning Spanish. For thirty days, there's no English allowed in their apartment: it's all Spanish.<br /><br />I think that most of you will be able to relate to what James is going through. I know that when I moved to Spain, I was at about this level...<br /><br />Don't miss t<a href="http://youtu.be/PFgpMnwnkwU">he video where they watch the soap opera together</a> - it's classic.Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-65362505014493790362013-07-28T14:55:00.001+02:002013-07-28T14:55:50.533+02:00What are your English practice plans this summer?So....this week is the week when most people go on holidays. When we think of holidays, we don't think about work; the most that we want to do is, well, nothing.<br /><br />When did you English classes end? How much have you planned to practice your English over the summer?<br /><br />If you think that practice isn't important, I'd like to ask you to reflect on a post that I wrote last year. <a href="http://stop-spanglish.blogspot.ca/2012/02/pre-intermediate-isnt-levelits-attitude.html">You are the only person who can control how much you learn. You attitude is everything!</a><br /><br />So how have you planned to review and practice your English over the summer? How are you guarantee that you don't go back over the summer? Please feel free to leave your ideas in the Comments section below....Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-50747219263492770022013-07-16T12:18:00.000+02:002013-07-16T12:18:49.530+02:00English: The (new) official language of Le Tour?There's a thought-provoking article over at The New York Times: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/16/sports/cycling/16iht-cycling16.html?ref=sports">English has become the language for riders, teams and organizers at the Tour de France.&nbsp;</a>Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-89956910553877933072013-07-11T22:37:00.003+02:002013-07-11T22:39:13.312+02:00First Certificate and Squeaky WheelsOkay, let's be honest: People don't always like writing, and on the First Certificate, they really don't like formal writing. They're especially not happy about the Letter of Complaint. <i>Why,</i> they say, <i>do they include this on the writing? Why complain? Complaining doesn't work. It's impossible!!</i><br /><br />Let me tell you a story about what happened in my home town today.<br /><br />My hometown is called Kemptville, Ontario. For a long time, it was not a very big place, and it wasn't very rich. That's why a lot of us left: there were no jobs. We went to different places - Toronto, Ottawa, even Spain! - to find work.<br /><br />Things have changed a lot since then. The town had 2,500 people when I left; it now has about 20,000 living in the area. There are more businesses operating there. It's hard to find a really good job, but it's not hard to find a decent job.<br /><br />I won't go into all the details (you can read them <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/11/walmart-fires-woman-dog-truck_n_3578710.html">here</a>); but, on Tuesday, a girl from my home town got fired (perhaps illegally) and decided to complain. And, oh, did she complain. She took the campaign to the media and social media after she complained about being fired illegally. When I joined the Facebook campaign this morning, it had about 200 members. It's now up to 8,820 members. She now has a lawyer and a couple of job offers. And she wouldn't have that if she didn't complain.<br /><br />Be very careful when you roll your eyes and say that something is impossible. Just because something is new and scary, that doesn't mean that it's impossible.Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-24344321186661677702013-04-30T13:06:00.003+02:002013-04-30T13:06:50.087+02:00When preparing for exams....don't do these things!One of the reasons why I love The Guardian newspaper is that it's a fabulous source of how-to information on a variety of topics. Today's edition is no different - there's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/apr/30/student-advice-exams-success">a very good article on what not to do when you're taking an exam </a>-- and I think that a LOT of this information is valid for TOEFL iBT and the writing part of the GMAT exam.Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-90878351081911104292013-04-11T14:14:00.002+02:002013-04-11T14:14:32.275+02:00Text 2 Mind Map: A great tool for vocabulary management<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Are you one of those students who has a lot of notebooks from past courses? Are you one of those students who makes lots and lots of lists of words, but you don't know how to use them once the class is done? Trust me, you are not alone. You'd be surprised&nbsp;</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">One way to solve this problem is to filter out the vocabulary and<b> identify the words that you will <u>actually</u> use. </b>(Just because you wrote a word down in your book a year ago doesn't mean that you will use it a year from now.) &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Once you've done that,<b> group the words according to <u>common concepts</u> -</b> things you find in the kitchen, verbs related to studying, verbs that use subjunctive. &nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Why is it useful to do this? First, it helps you reduce and filter the old photocopies and notebooks: if you're not using your old class materials, <a href="http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/cull" target="_blank">cull</a> them and get them out of the way. Second, it's a lot easier to remember words and ideas if you understand the context behind them. The more you understand the reason WHY a word is important, the easier it will be to remember it and use it again in the future.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This is a word map that I created for basic verbs for TOEFL iBT using a website called <a href="http://www.text2mindmap.com/" target="_blank">Text 2 Mind Map</a>. I like this website because you can use it with both Macs and Windows, it's free to use <i>(we like free! Free is good!)</i> and you can download the word maps and share them. (I don't know if you can collaborate with other people to create a word map - I'm still waiting to hear on that.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T3yvFIsntsg/UWahHvTFwyI/AAAAAAAAAFw/IL6y8zvrjzI/s1600/text2mindmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T3yvFIsntsg/UWahHvTFwyI/AAAAAAAAAFw/IL6y8zvrjzI/s320/text2mindmap.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll probably update this word map over time: consult the latest version by clicking <a href="http://text2mindmap.com/3gTMaA" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>This is definitely worth using - I'm going to think of ways to incorporate this into my classes.<br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-72909367113184847652013-03-03T12:20:00.001+01:002013-03-03T12:20:46.368+01:00COLLEAGUE or COLLEGE - do you need help saying the words properly?It's easy to think of vocabulary mistakes just being a problem of what words mean. Sound, however, can also give us trouble when we're learning vocabulary. For many learners, this is the problem they face with saying the difference between <a href="http://youtu.be/zlPGDbZDr64" target="_blank"><b>colleague </b>or <b>college</b></a> - they mean to say the first word but end up saying the second.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>The difference is in the final sound. When you're saying <b><u>colleague</u></b>, be sure to say the "g" sound at the back of your throat, not at the teeth. Otherwise, it comes out sounding like "college", which has the same "g" sound as <b><u>George</u></b> or <b><u>edge</u></b>.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>If you'd like more help working with and practising individual sounds in English, be sure to check out the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/" target="_blank">Pronunciation</a> page on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/" target="_blank">BBC Learning English website</a>. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-82678190848850467972013-02-24T12:29:00.001+01:002013-02-24T12:29:20.924+01:00EDUCATED or POLITE - What's the difference?One set of false friends that causes a lot of confusion in English is the difference between an EDUCATED person and a POLITE person. This is important to understand because even though we use them to describe people, they don't mean the same thing - <a href="http://youtu.be/8GRFnAom4Ew" target="_blank">and this video explains why</a>.Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-36254750435559019172013-02-21T12:13:00.002+01:002013-02-21T12:13:48.067+01:00Pronunciation help: -ED endingsA couple of students had problems yesterday with pronouncing the -ED ending (for either regular past simple or participle adjectives), so I've created <a href="http://youtu.be/27a9to3L-cI" target="_blank">a video that explains the rule</a>.<br /><br />Here's how you do it: the first time you watch the video, just watch. Don't do anything. The second time you watch the video, try pronouncing the words after I say them. If you don't say it correctly, no worries. You can watch the video as many times as you want to practice.<br /><br />This video goes a little more slowly (to help lower-level students) - but don't be fooled. There are 45 videos on there: are you sure that you could pronounce all of these ED words correctly?Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-61177065025460147772013-02-19T13:25:00.000+01:002013-02-19T13:25:17.679+01:00Are adults better learners than children are?Many students believe that it's better to learn a language when you're a child. Certainly, kids have more <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/neuroplasticity" target="_blank">neuroplasticity</a> and their brains are able to construct connections because....well, they're kids. That is what the brains of kids do: build connections to understand things more clearly.<br /><br />Today, I want to present another point of view to the idea that, if you're an adult, you can't learn English - or learn any skill - properly or efficiently.<br /><br /><b>Here's a short list of what adults can do that kids can't do.</b><br /><br /><b>1. Adults have <a href="http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Intrinsic%20Motivation" target="_blank">intrinsic motivation</a> to learn. </b>Many adults like learning for many reasons: it gives them a sense of <a href="http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/accomplishment" target="_blank">accomplishment</a>; it helps them build relationships and open up opportunities - or maybe they just like learning because they like learning. This isn't always true with children. There are some kids who do enjoy English (God bless 'em!) but most kids don't think of learning as something that's fun, maybe because they don't see learning as something that will help them in the long term.<br /><br /><b>2. Adults are able to think critically.&nbsp;</b>Well, most adults, anyway. They can see how things are connected or not connected, how things are related (or not related), they know that you can't just say anything. (Most adults are also aware that you have to say SOMETHING - it's not acceptable to sit there with your mouth closed and not say anything.)<br /><br /><b>3. Adults are able to <a href="http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/visualize" target="_blank">visualize</a> connections and structures. </b>Most adults have&nbsp;the ability to see the relationships between words and ideas. They also understand that you can put different things together to create different effects, especially with language. That means that....<br /><br /><b>4. Adults understand how language can be changed or adapted to get different results.</b> Every adult realizes that you don't use the same kind of language with your boss as you do with your kids. The question here isn't about language - it's about social roles. Kids know what it means to be a kid: they don't have the experience of trying to be different because all they have to do is be a kid, so they don't have to adapt to different situations. Adults have to fill many roles in their lives (with work, friends and family) and they have to change their language depending on what role they are fulfilling at any moment.<br /><br /><b>5. Adults understand that there is more than one way to do something.</b> Again, most adults can do this; some adults need help seeing this. Since adults have an easier time of setting goals and seeing the steps they need to take to reach a goal, they are usually better about developing techniques to do that. Additionally, if their techniques don't work, they're usually pretty good about finding other ways, techniques and solutions to reach that goal.<br /><br />So don't despair if you're not a kid any more. Not being a kid does not mean that you will never learn English. As they say in English: With age comes experience.<br /><br /><b>When you think about what it means to be an effective communicator in English, which of these things are most important for you?</b>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-12583577511569639462013-02-18T16:17:00.000+01:002013-02-18T16:17:01.326+01:00POLITICS or POLITICIANS: What's the difference?I try to create videos that are timely and help people talk about current affairs. Today's video is for those of you who follow the news: <a href="http://youtu.be/tLkaXTSqQic" target="_blank">What's the difference between politicians and politics?&nbsp;</a><br /><br />(No jokes, just definitions!)<br /><br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-12748396620641537632013-02-13T14:15:00.000+01:002013-02-13T14:15:21.238+01:00I should have done this one last week...Unfortunately, I didn't think about doing a video on this until Monday, when I started seeing all the pictures of everyone at Carnaval. I hope that you had a great time at Carnaval, and I hope that this pair of words - <a href="http://youtu.be/TP5OqKBrfdA" target="_blank">custom or costume</a>? - doesn't give you trouble.<br /><div><br /></div><div>I apologize for being a little slow with the videos this week - it's been busy. There will be more to come!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-14555637739642038192013-02-05T13:22:00.003+01:002013-02-05T13:22:43.024+01:00If phrasal verbs give you a headache.......try this: <a href="http://youtu.be/fbPhq1XSIps" target="_blank">organize the phrasal verbs according to the particle, not by the verb.</a><br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Consult one of those very long lists of phrasal verbs, and you notice one thing: there are LOT more verbs than their are particles (particles are the adverbs or prepositions that create a phrasal verb.) So why not try organizing phrasal verbs by the particle, rather than the verb?<br /><br />Don't forget...focus on the phrasal verbs that you need, rather than memorizing long lists of random phrasal verbs that you will never use.<br /><br /><br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-87488884461016469422013-01-29T18:38:00.001+01:002013-01-30T12:11:12.396+01:00Four thoughts about homework:1. Homework is important because it's like brushing your teeth or paying taxes. No one really likes doing these things. There may be times when we don't do them because we don't feel like doing them. All of these things, even if they're boring or repetitive, help you keep control of your situation.<br /><br />2. Practise does not happen in a vacuum. You have many resources to help you. Doing exercises on paper is ONE way of improving your English, but it's not the only way. The limits to your resources are the limits to your interests: try to find something that you enjoy doing, then do that. Don't forget the paper exercises - but don't limit yourself to ONLY doing paper exercises.<br /><br />3. Teachers can provide the resources to help you, but we cannot do the learning for you. If you don't do your homework, and if you don't do any practice at all outside of class, that tells me that you are not serious about improving your English. I can help you, but I can't do the learning for you.<br /><br />4. Think about how much learning English - and being able to speak, listen, write and read well in English - means to you. If learning is not a priority for you right now, that's okay. But don't tell me that it's a priority and then do the things that will stop you from learning. I'm not giving you homework because I have nothing better to do than correct what you do. If I invest the time in creating exercises to help you, and you don't do those exercises, in my opinion, you don't deserve the right to complain that you're stuck.<br /><br />You only get out of it what you put into it.Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-50449701805362886042013-01-29T13:19:00.001+01:002013-01-29T13:19:59.091+01:00Writing isn't easy (but here's how to make it less difficult)I'm going to start this post by admitting that I always enjoyed writing. I'm not a very verbal person - I listen much better than I talk - and I always find it easier to write my ideas and feelings, rather than talk about them.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Not everyone is this way, however. After fourteen years of teaching, I know that there are a lot of students who don't like writing for many reasons:&nbsp;</div><div><ul><li><b>They don't trust a process that is not automatic.</b> Speaking is easy (for some people!) - you open your mouth, you move your tongue, teeth and lips, and you have spoken. &nbsp;Writing well means more preparation, more thinking about language thinking about the person who is going to receive what you're writing...and more steps can mean more possibilities for making mistakes.</li><li><b>It's a lot of work. </b>Even if the work helps students improve, that still doesn't mean that they like it. There are a lot of students who won't do work, whether they think it helps them - or not.</li><li><b>They feel self-conscious about writing something down because they think the mistake will be there forever.</b> In contrast, if you say something silly or ridiculous, it only exists as long as the other person hears or remembers the mistake. (And trust me, some people have VERY long memories of mistakes.)</li></ul></div><div>Are you one of those students who doesn't like writing? &nbsp;<a href="http://youtu.be/186b60G_C28" target="_blank">This video</a>&nbsp;provides a quick review of the seven pieces of advice that I give my students so that they find writing less stressful.</div><div><br /></div><div>The focus of the video is on things that you do in your own language, anyway - they're universal things &nbsp;that you probably do in your own language, but which take a little longer when you're writing in English. Here are some other things to remember....</div><div><ul><li><b>Perfect doesn't exist. </b>"I want to do it perfectly," a student says. There is no perfect. "Perfect" is an excuse that people use so that they don't have to do anything at all. Good enough is fine. Don't put yourself under pressure to create something that is impossible.&nbsp;</li><li><b>If you don't know what to write, write anything.</b> Keep your pen or pencil moving. Keep typing. It is always easier to fix what you have, instead of trying to fix what doesn't exist. Even if you have to start a writing by writing this is crap, this is crap, this is crap, this is crap....</li><li><b>Writing is a skill.</b> Like any other skill, such as playing basketball, dancing Argentine tango or surfing, <i>there is only one way to get better: practice more. It's work, not magic, that makes people get better.</i>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div><br /></div>Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-78560360450042088242013-01-28T02:36:00.002+01:002013-01-30T18:42:47.107+01:00COMPLETE vs. REALIZE: What's the difference?It's time for a new video on false friends! This is one that will be of interest to you who are doing the First Certificate, because this pair of easily confused words has appeared on the First in the past: it's<a href="http://youtu.be/8koKAK4S_tw"> the different between REALIZING something and COMPLETING something.&nbsp;</a>Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-44013799607452766242013-01-22T15:43:00.000+01:002013-01-22T15:43:06.945+01:00A post about snow and adverbsLike the song says, "Baby, it's COLD outside." Two students who are in London are reporting that there's quite a bit of snow in the south-east UK, and my friend Álvaro, who lives just north of Madrid, says that he's got about 10 cm of snow on his car.<br /><br />Here's a photo of the thermometer on my balcony, taken today at 9:17 AM:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVsZqY6FnXU/UP6jNsV54hI/AAAAAAAAAFg/H3EH2X5jvWQ/s1600/thermometer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WVsZqY6FnXU/UP6jNsV54hI/AAAAAAAAAFg/H3EH2X5jvWQ/s320/thermometer1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />It seems like today is a good day to write about adjectives and adverbs: <b><i>It's really cold out there today.</i></b><br /><br />One of the jobs of adverbs is to give us more information about adjectives. We often do this with adverbs of degree:<br /><br /><ul><li><i>It's cold outside.</i></li><li><i>It's really cold outside.</i></li><li><i>It's surprisingly cold outside.</i></li><li><i>It's shockingly cold outside.</i></li><li><i>It's ridiculously cold outside.</i></li></ul><br />English speakers often do this in order to give you a very specific idea of their opinion about something. &nbsp;Why? Our ideas of cold are probably different - and, even then, we have so many degrees of cold that it helps me be specific about what kind of cold I mean.<br /><br />This isn't really common in written Spanish, and almost no one uses it in normal, spoken Spanish. It's very common with English speakers, however, so if you're not sure about how to use adverbs to describe adjectives, be sure to ask your teacher.<br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805042186183335153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8280816956599737257.post-74062872330032426362013-01-20T23:22:00.002+01:002013-01-20T23:37:33.328+01:00Could I ask you for two minutes of your time?I know, I hate it when people stop me and ask me to answers questions for a survey - so I hate asking you folks, too....however....<br /><br />I'm trying to get more information about how people feel about taking English classes over the Internet, so I've created&nbsp;that asks people what they think about English classes over Skype. The survey is totally anonymous - I won't ask you for your name, e-mail address or anything like that - and there is no obligation to buy anything after you take the survey (since I won't know who you are.)<br /><br />Thanks in advance for your help!! The survey is located at the very bottom of this web page - scroll all the way down to the end and you'll see it there.<br /><br /><br />Dawn Severenukhttps://plus.google.com/111827523015918328526noreply@blogger.com0